The present invention relates to an adjustment mechanism for adjusting force vectors in excavating natural and man-made formations, including downhole drilling, trenching, mining, and road milling. More specifically, the present invention relates to adjusting a resultant force vector acting on a cutting element in an excavating assembly. The magnitude and direction of resultant force vector depends on a plurality of excavating parameters.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,819 to England, which is herein incorporated by reference for all that it contains, discloses a method of continuous flight auger piling and a continuous flight auger rig, wherein an auger is applied to the ground so as to undergo a first, penetration phase and a second, withdrawal phase, and wherein the rotational speed of and/or the rate of penetration of and/or the torque applied to the auger during the first, penetration phase are determined and controlled as a function of the ground conditions and the auger geometry by means of an electronic computer so as to tend to keep the auger flights loaded with soil originating from the region of the tip of the auger. During the withdrawal phase, concrete may be supplied to the tip of the auger by way of flow control and measuring means, the rate of withdrawal of the auger being controlled as a function of the flow rate of the concrete, or vice-versa, by means of an electronic computer so as to ensure that sufficient concrete is supplied to keep at least the tip of the auger immersed in concrete during withdrawal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,059 to Ho, which is herein incorporated by reference for all that it contains, discloses an apparatus and method for use in determining drilling conditions in a borehole in the earth having a drill string, a drill bit connected to an end of the drill string, sensors positioned in a cross-section of the drill string axially spaced from the drill bit, and a processor interactive with the sensors so as to produce a humanly perceivable indication of a rotating and whirling motion of the drill string. The sensors serve to carry out kinematic measurements and force resultant measurements of the drill string. The sensors are a plurality of accelerometers positioned at the cross-section. The sensors can also include a plurality of orthogonally-oriented triplets of magnetometers. A second group of sensors is positioned in spaced relationship to the first group of sensors along the drill string. The second group of sensors is interactive with the first group of sensors so as to infer a tilting of an axis of the drill string.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,445,578 to Millheim, which is herein incorporated by reference for all that it contains, discloses an apparatus for measuring the side force on a drill bit during drilling operations and transmitted to the surface where it can be used in predicting trajectory of the hole and taking corrective action in the drilling operation. A downhole assembly using a downhole motor is modified to include means to detect the side thrust or force on a bit driven by the motor and the force on the deflection means of the downhole motor. These measured forces are transmitted to the surface of the earth during drilling operations and are used in evaluating and controlling drilling operations. Means are also provided to measure magnitude of the force on a downhole stabilizer.